Bradford County Probate - Probate in Florida
Christopher Q. Wintter Florida Probate Lawyer of Wintter & Associates, P.A.
Contact information: 2239 Hollywood Blvd. Hollywood, FL 33020 - Hollywood: 954-920-7014
Miami-Dade: 305-948-6788 - Boca Raton: 561-470-3448 - Fax: 954-920-7080
Wintter & Associates, P.A. is a Florida trust and estate law firm focusing its practice in the areas of probate administration, trust administration, guardianship administration, probate litigation, trust litigation, guardianship litigation, and estate planning. The firm's professionals are devoted to the representation of clients in estate, trust, probate, and guardianship proceedings. The firm is well known and is well respected by its colleagues, competitors, adversaries, and judges.
Christopher Q. Wintter has over 23 years of experience as a practicing attorney and is a recognized expert in Trust and Estate matters by the Florida Bar. Mr. Wintter earned his Juris Doctor from Duke University School of Law (1987) and earned his Bachelor of Science in Accounting with High Honors from the University of Florida (1982).
Our attorneys have a thorough understanding of the legal, tax and financial issues that come into play with complex Trusts and Estates. Mr. Wintter holds the prestigious Board Certification by the Florida Bar in Wills, Trusts, and Estates, a credential held by fewer than 350 attorneys out of the more than 90,000 attorneys licensed to practice law in Florida. Mr. Wintter has been Board Certified since 1999. Prior to becoming an attorney, Mr. Wintter was a CPA and maintained his license as a Certified Public Accountant from 1984-2002.
To learn more about Wintter and Associates, P.A., please visit our web-site www.WintterLaw.com.
Grief can be an overwhelming feeling especially when you are trying to cope with the loss of a loved one. However it is also a critical time to get down to business by hiring a probate lawyer to help with the administration of the estate. It is one of the many aspects of death that is best dealt with sooner rather than later, however there is no time limit to file the probate on an estate.
The probate law in Florida states that you must have a Probate lawyer to help you in the administration of an estate, unless you are doing it through disposition without administration. Disposition without administration is common for small estates and estates where the sole beneficiary and the executor are the same person. For all other estates you are required by Florida probate law to hire a Probate lawyer to administer your probate. In some cases, even if you think the probate will be simple, it's good to consult a Probate lawyer. Florida probate law is complex and can be quite discouraging for someone who isn't fully apprised of the laws.
You can hire any Florida area probate lawyer to help you administer your case - you are not bound by geography in who you can hire - you can hire a lawyer from anywhere in the state that is convenient for you. Most of estate probate administration is done through postal mail, fax, telephone and email, so geography isn't a factor.
It is recommended that you hire a Bradford County probate lawyer if there is contested litigation that needs to be held in the Bradford County courthouse because you will have an attorney familiar with the local rules, judges, etc. Your Probate lawyer usually will charge for his or her services as set forth in Florida Statutes Section 733.6171, which states:
733.6171 Compensation of attorney for the personal representative -
(1) Attorneys for personal representatives shall be entitled to reasonable compensation payable from the estate assets without court order.
(2) The attorney, the personal representative, and persona bearing the impact of the compensation may agree to compensation determined in a different manner than provided in this section if the manner is disclosed to the parties bearing the impact of the compensation and if no objection is made as provided for in the Florida Probate Rules.
(3) Compensation for ordinary services of attorneys in formal estate administration is presumed to be reasonable if based on the compensable value of the estate, which is the inventory value of the probate estate assets and the income earned by the estate during the administration as provided in the following schedule:
(a) One thousand five hundred dollars for estates having a value of $40,000 or less
(b) An additional $750 for estates having a value of more than $40,000, but not exceeding $70,000.
(c) An additional $750 for estates having a value of more than $70,000 and not exceeding $100,000.
(d) For estates having a value in excess of $100,000, at the rate of 3 percent on the next $900,000.
(e) At the rate of 2.5 percent for all above $1 million and not exceeding $3 million.
(f) At the rate of 2 percent for all above $3 million and not exceeding $5 million.
(g) At the rate of 1.5 percent for all above $5 million and not exceeding $10 million
(h) At a rate of 1 percent for all above $10 million.
The time that it takes to complete the administration on a probate is also variable depending on complexity and differences in each case. When you hire a probate lawyer a nontaxable estate probate that requires summary administration usually takes between four and five weeks where a nontaxable estate probate that requires full administration takes between six and twelve months. A taxable estate probate takes even longer and usually is completed in about two years, most of that time is spent waiting for the IRS to sign off on the Estate tax return before the probate administration can be completed.
If it is your spouse that has passed away and all assets are co-owned, you may not require a Probate lawyer, however it is best to contact one to ensure that you are heading down the right road. Speak to a Bradford County Probate Lawyer today!
